The Rake's Progress

James Levine, a longtime champion of Stravinsky’s only full-length opera, draws out every nuance of this landmark score, a virtuosic blend of farce and tragedy. Paul Appleby leads the cast as Tom Rakewell, a young man who forsakes his fiancée for the lure of the city and a Faustian bargain—only to end up in a madhouse. Layla Claire is Anne Trulove, who stands by him to the end, Gerald Finley sings Nick Shadow, the devilish figure who guides Tom through his new, increasingly decadent life, and Stephanie Blythe is Baba the Turk, a bearded lady who becomes Tom’s wife. Brindley Sherratt co-stars as Anne’s father, Trulove.